Maelle Ba from Senegal introduces Zero Malaria Starts With Me: a movement for a malaria free Africa – Author's photo from Malaria World Congress The 1st Malaria World Congress has warned that the ‘fight to eliminate malaria is at a crossroads’. The global ‘declining trend’ has stalled according to the World Health Organisation. Funding has also plateaued: We're at a crossroads. We neglect #malaria at our peril. Momentum has gained in past months since @JulieBishopMP & @DrTedros shared #CHOGUM stage. @WHO message to @MalariaCongress this week: https://t.co/IDaicEUBQw — Pedro Alonso (@PAlonsoMalaria) July 2, 2018 Melbourne seemed an unlikely venue to hold this congress. It is a long way from the countries that accounted for most of the estimated 216 million cases and 445,000 deaths globally in 2016. However, there are real problem areas on Australia’s doorstep such as the Mekong region and Papua New Guinea: In Papua New Guinea #malaria is resurging – Estimated 1.4m malaria cases in #PNG in 2016 – a 400% increase according to WHO – 3000 people died. In Greater Mekong Subregion, malaria parasites developing resistance to anti-malaria drugs. #publichealth https://t.co/OppSfvaeqh — I Sea (@RiffRaffBriz) July 1, 2018 A keynote speech by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop included a welcome funding announcement: The Hon Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, gives a keynote malaria elimination in the Indo-Pacific. Great to see such important support at the 1st ⁦@MalariaCongress⁩ pic.twitter.com/O8mfIwkjjD — Prof. Simon I. Hay (@simonihay) July 2, 2018 However, not everyone was impressed given the cuts in overseas aid by her government during the last five years: With respect, Australia has many excellent global health & medical researchers and institutions but our gov’t currently punches far below our weight when it comes to funding health (and broader) foreign aid https://t.co/Pmv88gbDjU #MalariaCongress #AustralianAid — Camilla Burkot (@CamillaBurkot) July 5, 2018 There were 1000 participants from 60 countries with diverse backgrounds including: drug and vector researchers and developers; non-government organisations, government agencies and policy planners; academics; private sector companies; and community representatives. So it was no surprise that a lot of interest was generated on social media. In fact, the organisers had produced a guide, 8 tips for using Twitter, with the help of Inis Communication. They were suitably pleased that the official twitter hashtag #malariacongress trended several times during the five days. There was lots of good eradication news, with prime examples coming from Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Professor Sir Richard Feachem underlined these successes in his address: Remembering Sri Lankan malaria elimination success by Sir Richard Feachem @MalariaCongress pic.twitter.com/ib31IIH7vq — Maxine Whittaker (@maxinewhittaker) July 3, 2018 Sir Richard Feachem shows the shrinking #malaria #map of the #Philippines, which targets elimination by 2030 #MalariaCongress #EndMalaria pic.twitter.com/HbUCDdpuJd — Chris Mercado (@cegmercado) July 4, 2018 There were also positive stories from Africa such as the new campaign Zero Malaria Starts with Me. Many future challenges were discussed during the gathering. These included: vector [mosquito] control, drug and insecticide resistance, diagnosis and treatment, community engagement, and financing. Professor Feachem looked at five of these and was least confident about vaccine development: Professor Sir Richard Feacham #malariacongress – what do we need to #eradicatemalaria ? management management management pic.twitter.com/qLdPYu2DXf — Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security (@CentreHealthSec) July 4, 2018 Philip Welkhoff, from the Gates Foundation, brought experience of tackling other diseases: Fantastic talk from Dr Philip Welkhoff @gatesfoundation this afternoon. ? We need to focus on delivering a tailored mix of targeted interventions. Genetic surveillance gives insight into where, when and how to deploy them @MalariaCongress #MalariaCongress #endmalaria pic.twitter.com/hd2H7q78kL — Brittany Gilchrist (@Britt_Gil1) July 3, 2018 Shaz Sivanesan listed a variety of factors that she believes need to be addressed: Malaria, Gender and Human Rights, we need to understand the links. its a disease of poverty. We need to look at social exclusion, language, gender, age, legal status and physical barriers #EndMalaria #MalariaCongress — Shaz Sivanesan (@aremyresultsok) July 3, 2018 Scarce funding was a major concern.